The Key to Triumph
by daisyboo
Summary: A young girl has just lost her mother and she must now face this harsh world alone but with the arrival of old friends and new faces, can she overcome the changes and tragedies that will follow the new life that she now leads? Maybe a marysue


Hey everyone, this is my first lord of the rings fan fic and i just want to say thanks for reading, if you are and enjoy. Also, if your feeling generous please review but criticisms are also welcome.

Disclaimer: I do not own any lord of the rings characters, only the ones created by my own imagination.

daisyboo xx

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**Chapter One**

A lone female figure gazed absentmindedly at a large worn wooden box as she carefully blinked back tears that escaped from her beautiful lavender eyes that were glistened by the saltwater droplets that fell. She allowed a few to fall and then she embraced herself tightly with her slender arms. The girl stepped closer towards the box and then she touched the rough surface of the box gently with her delicate forefinger. She elegantly ran her finger back and forth across the coarse top of the box as more tears escaped from her eyes. She stood by the box hunched over it wearing a tatty worn black dress that she had created herself and a simple black hat that concealed her beautiful long dark brown hair. She looked at herself for a moment and then studied the dress that she had created from recycled old pieces of black cloth. The dress was simple and rather shabby but that was due to the poor quality of the cloth and not due to the expert craftsmanship of the stitching and needlework. However, the girl also wore plain worn black boots and a long woollen black cloak. She was draped in her blackness and her exterior also reflected her interior. She felt hollow and numb and tears continued to fall from her glistening lavender eyes.

The girl was upset and her eyes were fixed on the box before her because the box contained her mother. The girl's mother had been a very beautiful woman indeed, in her younger days and she really was a famous local beauty within the mortal realm of Rohan. Her beauty was famous and fair as she had long flowing locks of gorgeous golden hair and stunning pale blue eyes of glistening water droplets. She was stunning and gorgeous and by the tender age of sixteen, she had already received six offers of marriage and all six she had refused. She had been proposed to by two very good childhood friends of hers, the local blacksmith, two soldiers and the son of a general and she had refused all six. She had refused them all because she had been haunted since the very beginnings of their acquaintance of a particular man who had captured her affections from the very beginning. He was striking and very handsome with wild black hair and deep brown eyes. He was the second son of Lord Dolton in Gondor and she became deeply attracted to him. His name was Christian and although he was three years her elder, he too had been haunted her by beauty and splendour.

Her name was Acecien and he had fallen in love with her on their very first meeting. Acecien too had fallen in love with him and she thought him very handsome and charming. Christian had been in attendance at Rohan, when he and Acecien met, rather than his home realm of Gondor because he had been sent by his father to deal with some business with the local lords. Christian was not thrilled, when he had been sent on this errand but he knew that he had to complete it and rather hoped that it would only take him a week rather than the two that were planned. However, he got more than he bargained for and at the feasting ceremony, he met and fell in love with Acecien. He was captivated and enthralled by her beauty and when he began talking to her, he became even more enchanted. She was only fifteen at the time and had her long golden hair draped down her back in bright golden waves. Her eyes were extremely pale but they were glistening beautifully. Also, Acecien was wearing a beautiful midnight blue gown that flattered her body to perfection and Christian loved the way in which the gown moulded her exquisite figure flawlessly.

However, before he began speaking with her, he had watched her intently, all night and Acecien knew that she was being held under his watchful gaze. She had captured his gaze, once or twice, and she being enchanted by the creaminess of his deep brown eyes. She watched him next then as he approached her and her cheeks began to blush slightly as she knew he stood before her proud and shameless. His wild dark hair was tamed and hung just below his shoulders all fine and wavy. His deep brown eyes were alive and dancing as they watched the beautiful goddess before him and he wore rich elaborate clothing with ceremonial armour and chain mail. Acecien looked up, when she saw Christian's form before her and a blush appeared in her pale cheeks again. She looked up at him at his great height and he looked down at her. A small smile crept onto her gorgeous face then and Christian literally melted at her joyous look. He asked her if she wished a dance from him and she obliged him readily. He then smiled and took her slender hand in his own masculine one. They danced for most of the night and as the feast came to a close, both Acecien and Christian were deeply disappointed. They respectfully bid each other goodbye and Acecien thought it highly unlikely that she would ever see him again, but she was wrong.

Their next meeting was five months later, when Christian returned on business with the lords and he instantly sought out Acecien. He was happy to see that she was at her home and even more thrilled, when she and her father consented for her to be allowed to take a walk with him. They walked and they walked for a good three hours and they talked about a million things. They knew each other better at the end of their walk and both thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. Christian took his goodbye then but he returned the next day. Christian kept coming to Acecien's home every day during his stay in Rohan and two days before he was about to leave; he declared his love for her and she him. They were both immensely happy and Christian proposed to Acecien on that day. She gracefully accepted and both Acecien's and Christian's parents were happy with the match as both Acecien and Christian were from noble families. They had a short and happy six-month engagement and then they wed. They married in a small intimate ceremony in Rohan and on their blessed day, Christian was amazed at the beauty in which Acecien was. She had her long golden locks curled and pinned to her head and then hidden behind a beautiful white veil. She wore an exquisite but simple white gown and she held a small bunch of orchids in her hands. She looked beautiful and breathtaking in her simple but elegant wedding attire and Christian was stunned.

However, she too was amazed at how handsome he looked wearing his rich and beautifully made clothes and ceremonial armour and chain mail. They both looked amazing and the ceremony was short and sweet. They pronounced their vows and at the end, they were pleased to be announced as man and wife. They kissed then to seal their promise to each other and started their journey as a happily married couple. They moved to Gondor and made their home in the magnificent city of Minas Tirith. They settled easily into their home and Christian took up the duties of a lord of the land. However, about the time of their wedding, the Steward of Gondor died and thus his eldest child and only son became the steward. But Christian was a good friend to the new steward, Denethor and he was quickly given favours because of his friendship with the steward. The steward by this time was married and had two sons of his own, Boromir who was six and Faramir who was eleven months. However, the one thing that both Acecien and Christian craved more than anything was a child of their own. They tried and they tried for years but they were never successful. They tried but eventually their wish was granted and they were given the joy that they so longed for. They had a daughter of the most unusual circumstances but she was a child nevertheless and she was now theirs. Their daughter was a sweet beautiful baby and she was the joy and light of her parents' life. They named her Aimee and they loved her so very much. She grew into a sweet and adorable young child and her father loved her very much.

However, tragedy struck the family, when Aimee was only eight years old, they lost Christian. Christian was a general for the armies of Gondor and he was very gifted at what he did. However, in this one particular battle, he was unlucky and he lost his life, leaving behind his wife and child to fend for themselves. Acecien was distraught, when she was delivered the news of her husband's death and she was even more distressed, when she had to tell her daughter. Aimee had been grief-stricken and she felt lost and alone. Aimee adored her father and he her but she loved her mother also.

Next, they both attended his funeral and Aimee remembered it vividly. She remembered her mother looking so lost and upset, wearing a plain black dress, a matching coat and matching boots. She kissed the coffin continuously and cried all day. Aimee also remembered what the day had been like for her, she felt completely alone now and extremely sad. She loved her daddy very much and looked extremely tragic in the little black dress and hat that her mother had made for her for the occasion. Aimee cried through out the day and at one point, was comforted by a man whom she did not know. He was very tall and extremely thin with piercing blue eyes and long deep brown hair that was pulled back off of his face. He was wearing an elaborate full-length grey robe and he sang to Aimee in a language that was unfamiliar to her. She did not know why but she felt safe and secure with him like he would protect her against anything. However, Aimee's mother finished paying her respects to her husband and then the man handed Aimee back to her mother. She said a solemn goodbye to the comforting man and then Aimee's mother took them back to their accommodation.

After the funeral, Acecien decided to take Aimee back to her home realm of Rohan and live a simple comfortable life, away from the hectic life of being nobility, so she could allow her memories to become full again. She wanted to move because as she wandered down the gloomy corridors of Minas Tirith, everything reminded her of him. She wanted to be comfortable where she lived and thus chose her homeland, Rohan. There had been a tearful goodbye between Aimee and Denethor's boys as a bond of friendship had formed between them especially Faramir and Aimee. Although, Faramir and Boromir were older than Aimee, Faramir by one year and Boromir by six, they regarded her as a sister and promised to see each other soon. But that promise never got fulfilled as Acecien bought a small farm on the outskirts of Rohan in the middle of nowhere and thus contact between Aimee and Faramir ceased. Acecien moved into the small farm with her daughter when Aimee was just eight years old and they virtually fended for themselves. They grew their own foods, learnt how to make medicine with the herbs that they grew and Acecien even gave Aimee an education by teaching her herself.

They lived comfortably on the farm for the next eight years until Acecien died tragically of a terrible disease leaving Aimee alone on the farm to fend for herself. Acecien had been a brilliant mother, when her husband was alive and she had been vibrant and happy with her dancing blue eyes and long blonde hair. But then she became withdrawn and spent most of her days alone and as the years wore on and Aimee grew into a beautiful young woman, with every day that Aimee became more beautiful, it seemed that Acecien lost her beauty as her once lovely golden locks became dishevelled and her blue eyes became haunted with the loss of her beloved husband. She became even more withdrawn towards the end of her life and even sometimes forgot that Aimee was her daughter. It was kind of a relief when Acecien lost her life as her torment would no longer continue and she could then be with her husband. Acecien had a small funeral in the nearby village and got buried in the local cemetery. The funeral had been brief but presentable and Aimee said a few chosen words that represented her mother in good light. A couple of people attended the ceremony and one of them stood out the most. The mourner who stood out the most was the tall slim man who had comforted Aimee at her father's funeral but this time he never spoke to her. He just watched her lead the ceremony in an elegant and dignified manner wearing a simple black dress that she had made herself. The tall slim man stayed at the ceremony until Acecien's body was buried and then he left. Aimee did not know that the man had attended but she knew that there was comfort from the small gathering of mourners and she took pride in that feeling.

After the mourners had left and Aimee returned to her little farm, which she walked to, she quickly undressed and draped the worn black dress and thick woollen cloak over a tatty wooden chair. She removed her old black boots and released her hair from the hat and bonds that held it. Her hair fell in long brown waves down her naked back and Aimee slowly walked over to a large wooden wardrobe. She casually opened it and pulled out an old fading white nightdress. She gently admired it and placed it over her naked body. She pulled it down over her head and it fell towards her feet. She straightened it out a little and then walked over to her mother's old vanity table. She picked up an old hairbrush then and began running it through her beautiful locks. She eventually finished and collapsed in a heap onto the small single bed. She pulled the covers over her face and the blankets captured the warmth and that radiated from her magnificent body. She gently closed her eyes and then allowed the exhaustion that filled her body to win and she fell to a deep dreamless refreshing sleep.


End file.
